Chapter 189
[ 486 words ]
Chapter 189:
The dog heard her crying. It jumped off the bed, limped over to her, and began frantically licking the salty tears from the back of her hands.
Caroline grabbed the small animal and pulled it tightly against her chest, rocking back and forth on the floor of her childhood bedroom, consumed by the darkest, most terrifying night of her life.
The next morning, bright sunlight pierced through the gap in the curtains, stinging Caroline’s swollen, red eyes.
She sat up, her body aching from sleeping on the floor.
She had to get out of this house. The silence and her parents’ anxious whispering were driving her insane. A fleeting thought of her lunch with Julian flashed in her mind, followed by a wave of nausea. How could she possibly pretend to be normal when her entire world was ending? There was no way she could go. She would text him an excuse later. She needed a distraction — something to drown the static in her head with the most mundane, meaningless noise she could find. She needed to be surrounded by the banal details of civilian life — the price of kibble, the squeak of a shopping cart wheel — to keep from screaming.
She pulled on a pair of baggy black sweatpants and a plain black hoodie, then tugged a worn baseball cap low over her eyes to hide her face.
She grabbed the dog’s leash and walked downstairs.
Her mother stood at the stove, frying eggs.
I𝘯𝘀𝘁𝘢𝘯𝘁 𝗮cc𝗲s𝘀 𝗈n gа𝘭𝘯𝗈𝘷𝗲𝗅𝘀.𝖼𝘰𝗆
“I’m taking the dog to get some specific food,” Caroline said quickly, not stopping. She walked out the front door before her mother could ask a single question.
The cold morning air hit her face, clearing the fog in her brain slightly.
She walked four blocks down the quiet suburban street until she reached the large, bustling PetSmart. She needed to buy more premium canned food and some high-end treats to coax the dog into taking its morning pills.
She grabbed a shopping cart, placed the dog carefully in the bottom basket, and pushed through the sliding glass doors, desperate for an hour of mindless, civilian peace.
The automatic glass doors of PetSmart slid open, blasting Caroline with a wave of heavily air-conditioned air.
The massive pet store was relatively quiet on a Saturday morning. The air smelled of kibble and rubber chew toys. The mundane, domestic atmosphere acted like a temporary balm on Caroline’s frayed nerves.
She pushed the silver shopping cart down the wide, brightly lit aisle. The small black Cavapoo sat obediently in the lower basket rack, its dark eyes watching the colorful displays pass by.
Caroline turned the corner into the pet supply aisle and stopped in front of a display of expensive, grain-free puppy treats. She picked up a bag, squinting at the tiny print on the ingredient list, trying to focus her exhausted brain on the simple task.
At that exact moment, the front doors of the store slid open again.
Beatrice Hendon stormed inside.
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